From April 17 to 20, 2026, the "Dwarf Galaxies 2026 @ Suzhou & CSST Early Science Proposal Workshop" was held in Suzhou. Organized by young faculty members Zhen Yuan and Yangyao Chen, among others, from the School of Astronomy and Space Science at Nanjing University, the meeting brought together more than sixty scholars and students from over twenty universities and research institutes across China, including Peking University, Tsinghua University, several observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and Zhejiang University to share the latest advances and future directions. Focusing on dwarf galaxies — the smallest, most dark-matter-dominated, and morphologically diverse class of galaxies in the Universe — the conference explored key questions related to the nature and properties of dark matter, the formation and evolution of dwarf galaxies, and the archaeology of the Milky Way and nearby galaxies.
The program was compact and wide-ranging, with six main sessions: Dwarf Galaxies as Cosmological Probes of Dark Matter, Satellite Galaxies as Testbeds for Studying Galaxy Interactions, Dwarf Galaxies as Bridges Between the Distant and Nearby Universe, Gas and Stellar Populations in Dwarf Galaxies, CSST-Related Science on Dwarf Galaxies, and The Environment and Diverse Morphology of Dwarf Galaxies. Talks by faculty members and students covered observations, theoretical modeling, and numerical simulations, offering a broad view of recent progress in research of dwarf galaxies.
In the session "Dwarf Galaxies as Cosmological Probes of Dark Matter", Prof. Xiaojun Bi, Prof. Daneng Yang and other speakers presented recent efforts to use observations of dwarf galaxies to test and constrain dark matter models, underscoring the role of these systems as natural laboratories for studying dark matter. In the session "Satellite Galaxies as Testbeds for Studying Galaxy Interactions", Prof. Fangzhou Jiang, Dr. Feihong He and others discussed new results based on semi-analytic models and numerical simulations, offering deep insights into the evolution paths and interactions of dwarf galaxies. During the session "Dwarf Galaxies as Bridges Between the Distant and Nearby Universe", talks by Prof. Zhen Yuan, Dr. Zhiqiang Yan, and other researchers working on Milky-Way dwarf galaxies and stellar streams showed how Galactic archaeology with high-precision observations in the nearby Universe can be used to trace the history of galaxy evolution back to early cosmic epochs.
The workshop also included a dedicated discussion session on CSST-related science on dwarf galaxies. With the Chinese Space Station Telescope (CSST) scheduled for launch soon, researchers in China are embracing unprecedented opportunities in observational studies of dwarf galaxies. Many participants, as core members of the CSST project team, held in-depth discussions on early science proposals, covering topics from searches for dwarf galaxies to the studies of extremely low-surface-brightness structures, from the survey of the Virgo cluster to the detection of faint galaxies.
Another notable feature of the meeting was the strong participation of young students. Beyond the insights gained from presentations that allowed students to deeply appreciate how the close interplay between theory and observation, and between simulations and data drives scientific progress, numerous undergraduate and graduate students took an active role throughout the workshop. Some presented their latest research findings and earned recognition from attendees for the clarity of their thinking and the solidity of their work. Others helped with organization, scheduling, and on-site coordination, providing essential support for the meeting. Whether at the podium or behind the scenes, these students played a visible role in the workshop and brought energy and momentum to the meeting.
The conference featured a strong academic atmosphere and lively discussions, providing an open platform for exchange among researchers and reflecting the open, inclusive, collaborative, and innovative spirit of China’s astronomy community. The organizing committee also collected suggestions from participants and plans to continue the "Dwarf Galaxies" workshop series, with the aim of building a stable platform for academic exchange in this field. The organizers look forward to welcoming participants again at the next meeting, with new scientific results and even broader participation of young scientists in the CSST era.
Author: Xue Jinghang (Undergraduate, Nanjing University)